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President Donald Trump signed a decree on May 1, 2026, expanding United States sanctions against Cuba and authorizing, for the first time, punishment for foreign banks and financial institutions that conduct transactions with sanctioned Cuban entities. The decree, signed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), targets the energy, finance, mining, and defense sectors. China classified the measures as “illegal” in an official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released this Tuesday (5) and demanded an immediate end to the embargo.
Trump signed a decree expanding sanctions against Cuba at a time when the Caribbean island is already facing an energy collapse caused by American pressure in recent months. Since January 2026, the United States government has applied more than 240 new sanctions against Cuba and intercepted at least seven oil tankers destined for the island, according to reports from Cuba Headlines and CBS Miami. The result is an 80% to 90% drop in Cuban energy imports, exacerbating a crisis that already imposed daily blackouts of 12 to 20 hours in various regions of the country.
China’s reaction was the harshest since the Trump administration intensified its maximum pressure strategy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing declared that the sanctions “seriously violate” the basic norms of international relations and that the United States must “immediately end the embargo and sanctions against Cuba and any form of coercive pressure.” China is Cuba’s second-largest trading partner, behind Venezuela, and the statement signals that Beijing does not intend to back down from its strategic relationship with Havana despite American threats.
What the May 1st decree determines
The decree, titled “Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to the National Security and Foreign Policy of the United States,” was signed under IEEPA and introduces mechanisms that go beyond traditional restrictions. For the first time, the executive order authorizes secondary sanctions against foreign banks and financial institutions that conduct transactions with sanctioned Cuban entities, meaning that any bank in the world operating with the Cuban government risks losing access to the American financial system.
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The specifically targeted sectors include energy, financial services, mining, and defense. Officials of the Cuban regime and their adult family members have been banned from entering the United States, and all assets of the government of Cuba under American jurisdiction have been frozen. Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, declared that Cuba “needs to enact significant economic and political reforms,” signaling that the sanctions are conditioned on changes that Havana has historically refused to make.
The seven intercepted tankers and the energy collapse
The most concrete dimension of American pressure is not in the decree, but in what happened in the preceding months. Since January 2026, the Trump administration has intercepted at least seven oil tankers with petroleum destined for Cuba, blocking the island’s main energy supply route. Cuba imports about 70% of its energy, mainly in the form of crude oil and derivatives historically from Venezuela, and to a lesser extent from Russia, Mexico, and Algeria.
The 80% to 90% drop in energy imports turned an existing crisis into a catastrophe. Cubans face daily blackouts that can last from 12 to 20 hours in various regions, paralyzing the economy, closing businesses and hospitals, and forcing millions of people to live without electricity, refrigeration, and pumped water for prolonged periods. The blockade of oil tankers is the most effective instrument of American policy because it directly attacks the country’s basic operational capacity.
The aircraft carrier threat and Trump’s speech
video: G1
On May 2, a day after signing the decree, **Trump** linked **Cuba**’s situation to the end of military operations in Iran and publicly suggested that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier could be stationed 100 yards (about 91 meters) off the Cuban coast. **In a public speech the day before, Trump had declared, in a tone CBS Miami described as laughing**, that after dealing with Iran “maybe the biggest aircraft carrier in the world goes there, stops near the coast, and they say ‘thank you very much, we surrender’.”
The remark was made as a joke, but it carries diplomatic weight that no authority ignores. **Daniel Gómez, a political analyst quoted by CBS Miami, interpreted the decree and the threats as “a warning to countries like Russia and China to stay away”** from **Cuba**, a reading that suggests the pressure on Havana is, in practice, a message to the great powers that maintain relations with the Cuban government.
Cuba’s reaction and Raúl Castro’s rare appearance
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, **Cuba**’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, classified the new measures as “illegal and abusive,” maintaining Havana’s historical position of rejecting any legitimacy for the American **embargo**. **On the same day the decree was signed, Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former Cuban president, made a rare public appearance at the May Day parade in Havana**, a gesture interpreted by analysts as a demonstration of unity and resistance at a time of maximum pressure.
The crisis in **Cuba** is not just political: it is humanitarian. **With blackouts of up to 20 hours a day, hospitals operate with precarious generators, the cold chain for food and medicine collapses**, and the population seeks individual solutions ranging from improvised solar panels to wood-burning stoves. The American **embargo**, which has lasted more than six decades, has never produced the regime change Washington claims to seek, but **Trump**’s escalation reaches unprecedented levels of **energy** suffocation in recent history.
What secondary sanctions mean for the world
The secondary **sanctions** are the newest and potentially most impactful element of the decree. **Any foreign bank, company, or financial institution that maintains transactions with sanctioned Cuban entities can be cut off from the American financial system**, a punishment that no relevant economic actor voluntarily accepts. In practice, the mechanism forces **companies** worldwide to choose between doing business with **Cuba** or maintaining access to the dollar.
For Brazilian **companies** with operations or commercial relations with **Cuba**, the risk is direct. **Petrobras has historically sold fuel to the island**, and any future contract involving sanctioned sectors could expose the state-owned company to American retaliation. The **embargo** ceases to be a bilateral **US**-**Cuba** issue and becomes a global pressure instrument that affects any country that decides to maintain economic relations with Havana.
What to expect in the coming days and China’s role
**China** has been a strategic partner of **Cuba** since the 1960s, and Beijing’s reaction to the decree indicates that the relationship will not be abandoned due to American pressure. **However, the practical extent of Chinese support for Cuba is limited: Beijing does not have a naval fleet capable of guaranteeing the arrival of tankers against American interception** in the Caribbean, and the secondary **sanctions** threaten Chinese **banks** that operate with Cuban entities.
The most likely scenario is one of rhetorical escalation without direct confrontation. **China will continue to denounce the embargo as illegal in international forums, but it is unlikely to openly challenge America’s ability to block ships in the Caribbean.** For **Cuba**, this means that **energy** relief depends more on direct negotiation with Washington than on external support, an equation that **Trump** deliberately uses to force concessions that Havana has so far refused to make.
**Do you think Trump’s sanctions against Cuba are legitimate pressure for democracy or collective punishment against the Cuban population?** Tell us in the comments what you think about China publicly defending Cuba and if you believe the American embargo should end.
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